I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957) dir. Herbert L. Strock, Santa Rose Productions
Well, AIP already had a teenage werewolf, but not a Frankenstein? Yeah, the special section this year will look at the monsters that Mary Shelly unleashed.
Dr. Frankenstein (Whit Bissell) has arrived in the States from England. He's been lecturing on the subject of limb transplants. His work is brilliant but some of his theories are a bit unorthodox. Naturally he has to prove those fools wrong.
He ropes old friend Dr. Kelton (Robert Burton) into his being his assistant, mostly via blackmail. On the way back to Frankenstein's home they witness a horrible crash. Everybody's dead save for one teenage driver, but he's pretty messed up. He dies by the time the doctors get him back to the doc's private lab.
Hiring nurse Margret (Phyllis Coates) to handle the busy work, the doctors start to work on their project with gusto. Which is good, as his legs, hands, and face are largely useless pulp. Keeping an eye out for any stories about dead teenagers, the doctors slowly rebuild their creature into a nearly perfect human (Gary Conway). Nearly perfect that is, while the local dead teens can easily supply new legs and arms heads are a bit harder to come across in good condition.
The Creature's brain, on the other hand, is in better shape than his face. He's vocal and a bit curious. He wants people to talk to but when he sneaks out one night, well, things end badly. With Margret growing increasing curious about what's in the basement that she isn't allowed to enter and the Creature having growing pains of his own, how can Frankenstein control...a teenager?
Pretty good and oddly enough more faithful to Shelly's than either the Universal or Hammer films. Let that sink in for a moment. Wonderfully acted and a wonderful splash of color at the end for just the right amount of shock, worth the viewing.
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